Hear me out: this should be the plot of the next season of The White Lotus.

Dripping hot European destination? Check.

A couple that looks fine on the outside but is struggling behind closed doors? Check.

A complicated affair with a young local that sort of ruins everyone’s lives? Check.

This book genuinely had me feeling SICK. I just felt so bad for everyone involved (except for Darius—no one should feel bad for him), and I wanted a better, happier outcome, but my gut was telling me the whole time that I wasn’t going to get what I wanted. And I’m okay with that; I really am.

Amy Taylor spends a lot of time inside the two main characters’ heads, creating this psychological depth and drama as we witness how their relationship changes as their wants and needs shift drastically. What I found particularly interesting is how Emma and Julian in some ways end up wanting what the other desired at the start rather than ever truly ending up on the same page. They are contradictory to their cores, which made them more real for me as the reader.

The only issue I really had with this story, was the fact that the ending felt a bit rushed. So much time was spent building up to this climactic moment and then it all just sort of catapulted rapidly from there; I didn’t get to absorb the events or settle into the new reality before the conclusion. And I kind of wished I had gotten the chance to do that, but also I would have liked to see the Emma and Julian do the same in real time, and not as a brief reflection at the end, after they have respectively put their lives back together.

I will say, I would 100% watch this if it were turned into a movie or series; I think the drama in this story is set up well for that.

Thank you, NetGalley and The Dial Press for this e-ARC.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect but was intrigued and boy I really enjoyed this. Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the arc. A couple in their thirties are having some issues in their relationship and decide to try something new and invite another woman in which turns into a lot more drama than they were expecting. A very fast and interesting read. Definitely recommend.

Ruins is a vacation. A sexy, sexy vacation.

Emma and Julian are a married couple in their 30s. They long ago decided not to have children, so when Emma is unexpectedly pregnant and has a miscarriage, she's relieved. Until Julian realizes that he actually does want children.

The couple travels to Greece to house sit for a friend. One night at a restaurant, they meet an older woman. She lures Julian to the dance floor and Emma is pleasantly surprised to be turned on by this. As these feelings start to develop, Emma realizes that she wants to watch Julian with another woman. This adds strain to the already delicate marriage....

This isn't a light read. It's heavy, dealing with marriage, sexuality, desire and want. Amy Taylor has written a thought-provoking novel with Ruins.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I requested this ARC when I heard it was being made into a movie with Sebastian Stan and Vanessa Kirby possibly attached. My only real complaint about this was the format of the ARC it had so many words per page and therefore took me longer to read. As for the story I really loved the premise and execution of the plot. This was such a fun summer read with very intriguing characters. The main couple Julian and Emma were very well written and I really enjoyed seeing how everything affected them differently. Overall it was a very interesting read and I did enjoy it, thank you to all involved in allowing me this ARC read

I really enjoyed reading this book but I have mixed feelings about the storyline itself. Emma and Julian are a British couple housesitting in Athens for an extended stay while also at a cross roads in their relationship. After seeing Julian dance with a mysterious other woman in a bar, Emma realizes she's interested in the idea of seeing him do *other* things with another woman. After some flailing, Emma meets Lena, Greek bartender who she finds attractive and they propose the idea to her. Things get complicated, as they do, Lena's nefarious family gets involved, and everything basically unravels.

Things I liked: everyone in this story had wildly different motives for pursuing the same things, which was interesting to read, and well written. I also will always enjoy a female protagonist with no interest in pregnancy or children. The storyline was propulsive and readable, very atmospheric, and you really felt like you were in Athens during a sweltering summer along with the characters.

Things I didn't like: I felt like the rich British couple visited in Greece, messed up the lives of a couple of poor Greek people, and didn't really suffer any consequences. While this could have been a central point of the book, I didn't feel like it was interrogated at all/enough. I found Lena, her brother, and their community's backstory really interesting, and I thought they deserved more they got in this story.

Thanks to Random House | The Dial Press and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a quick summer read! Really enjoyable and lots of drama that kept me hooked throughout. Thank you to Random House / Dial Press for the arc! Definitely recommend!!

Felt pretentious and hard to follow at first.
Jumped back and forth in time and pov quickly between characters.
I was so confused by the characters decisions - specially toward the end as the decisions didn’t feel right for the over thinking characters.
This was so messy like the characters not the writing, that it was unbelievable.
The beginning had promise - quite dramatic. The ending was so blahhhhhh

I give this book 3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4 stars. It is the type of book that you think be careful what you wish for. Emma is just recovering from a miscarriage where she realizes that she is glad she lost the baby because she really doesn't want to be a mother. Where as her husband Julian realizes that he does really want children. I feel through this whole book that Emma was experiencing post partum depression. She is attracted to a young bartender and decides that she wants her husband to have sex with her while she watches. That turns her on until it doesn't. They had a strong relationship in the beginning. Julian is working on a thesis that he is struggling with. Emma decides to leave her job. They decide to leave their place in London and go apartment sit in Greece. The description of Greece is beautiful and that part I enjoyed. "Lena", the other woman has a brother who is a devious character and things happen that make you think, be careful what you wish for. It is a bit depressing and to be honest with you, the main characters were hard to relate and like. Julian was a pushover and indecisive. It was very well written though.
Thanks to #netgalley, #thedialpress and @amy_ester_ for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This was an entertaining read that I finished in a few hours.
A well written story that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
The characters draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.
They are realistic and very well developed.
I really enjoyed the writing style. I found myself hooked, turning the pages.

Thank you Random House for an eARC!

3.75 stars

I really enjoyed part 1 of this. The explorations into each character were so interesting but once I got to part 2 I honestly started losing interest. It begins feeling like a thriller which I liked at first but it starts to get too extreme and just inconceivable in my opinion. The character who is shown to be the bad guy felt more like a caricature of a cartoon villain. I would've loved if we had dived deeper into why he was the way he was and what his motives were. Overall this was still an enjoyable read with some interesting insights into a married couple's relationship and their downfalls. I'm also very excited to see the adaptation with Sebastian Stan and Venessa Kirby!

This was a fast paced read that would have benefited from the chance to allow both our readers and our characters to breathe. It was full of suspense and every time I thought that Emma and Julian had a chance of something going right for them, it just got worse. While there was a lot of detail and rich character dynamics for a shorter story, I feel like it could have benefited from a more drawn out climax and ending. If you are looking for heartbreak, drama, and suspense all wrapped into one book, you will find it here.

A fast paced summer read for those who like reading about people whose lives are falling apart. I really liked the writing style, it was beautifully descriptive while being simple at the same time. Didn’t love the plot, but I think that’s on me— I need more of a strong plot or strong characters to stay engaged with a story, and unfortunately I didn’t see either in this. I liked the setting, I’ve never been to Greece but thought it was well described. I really liked the “modern Greek tragedy” vibes this gave. I thought the ending was weak, but some might appreciate it.
My thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley!

Emma and Julian are at a turning point in their marriage where they can either pull it together or have it all shatter apart. A trip to Greece to house-sit for a friend is the freedom they need to figure out what they want for their future. The couple decides to invite a beautiful woman named Lena into their relationship. It’s all exciting until the dynamic takes a twisted turn. The thrill of freedom might lead Emma and Julian on a journey of destruction.

Ruins wasn’t what I had expected. One risky move between a vulnerable couple was bound to be a red flag. I was flipping through the pages because it just kept getting worse for Emma and Julian. I really don’t want to give too much away. If you want DRAMA and heartache … this one will bring it.

*Ruins will discuss heavy topics such as miscarriage, Consensual Non-Monogamy, and thoughts of infidelity.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this ARC. .

3.5⭐️

This was suspenseful and often stressful—it was pretty clear to me early on that things weren’t going to turn out well for Emma and Julian, I just didn’t know what exactly would be the thing that eventually broke them. Because of this sense of impending doom, I needed to know what was going to happen to them, so I read this pretty quickly.

The beginning was a bit slow at times as we got to know and understand both of them, their current mindsets, and their histories. Once I got through that, the story took off and didn’t really slow back down.

I found it quite thought-provoking when I started to consider the ethics of this entire situation from all sides. No one here is all bad or all good, and they all share some part of the blame for what happens. As the story progressed and we uncovered more, I found myself shifting my judgment from one person to the next, which added to the entertainment factor for me.

Still, I was left wanting something a little more; I wanted it to pack more of a punch, to leave me a bit shaken, but it just didn’t do that for me. I also loved Athens as the setting, but wished it was utilized more and had more of an atmospheric quality. There were also a couple of things left unexplained that I think should have (and could have) been closed up, and the ending felt a touch abrupt to me.

Overall, I still enjoyed this and would recommend it to anyone looking for a thought-provoking read that still delivers in drama and entertainment, making for a very bingeable read.

I really enjoyed this book! The plot was so good and made me want to keep reading to know what happens! Written very well and I loved the detail and flashbacks for each character mainly the FMC and the MMC. This was a great summer read due to the setting of the book but also had that thriller/ drama aspect to it as well that kept you going. This book was a great quick escape as it was only 200 and something pages! Overall I felt it was a great read with several great quotes and themes

this was both well written and readable, and i loved the setting and the complex dynamics between our characters and their complexities themselves. i wish the ending lived up to the layered story of the beginning and middle,, but i still enjoyed it!

I mean this was awesome lol. Like I am giddy about this book, so much so that I literally spent a whole BBQ with my friends telling them about it while they crowded around me like I was sharing the best ghost story they ever heard. Everything was spot on - go read this book.

I liked this, but didn’t love it. The direction we start out with was super intriguing and messy, which I loved. We then take a hard right turn into real life, which of course is realistic, but this direction wasn’t my cup of tea. We end with an outrageous climax followed by the fallout within our main character’s marriage.

The writing was strong, the setting evocative - just not my favorite direction we could have went.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good summery litfic read! Plus, I really enjoyed Amy Taylor’s debut SEARCH HISTORY, so I was extra excited to read RUINS. The writing style had me hooked instantly—Taylor’s prose is so strong—and the setting was very vivid and atmospheric, adding a sense of tension to the story. I am always a fan of a twisty marital drama, and this one definitely delivers on that front, while also introducing some mystery/thriller elements that will keep readers intrigued throughout.

In terms of things I didn’t love as much, I struggled a little with the middle part of the book pacing-wise, but the beginning had me wanting to keep reading, and the ending pulled everything together overall! I would recommend RUINS for anyone in search of a new late-summer read—moody, dramatic, and undeniably compelling. I’m interested to see the story brought to screen, too! Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and The Dial Press for the ARC.

While this one definitely delivers on the spice, I just didn’t love the premise of this. It was super messy and involving another person into a messy marriage (even if they’re willing) is just never a good idea